On the outdoors.

Signs Of Nature Amid The Concrete Canyons

October 21, 1999|By John Husar.

Nature in the city, for whatever it amounts to be or might presume to be . . . other than ants scrambling through cracks in tired sidewalks or snide "For Sale" signs sneaked into Cook County's forest preserves just to embarrass the County Board:

The oddity of seagulls in strip mall parking lots, miles from any lakefront. . . .

A kid wobbling upon his bike seat, supported by two pals, trying to snare an apple from a branch above the sidewalk. . . .

The faint remnant of a splatter of bluish juice from a tragically unharvested mulberry tree. . . .

Neighbors congregating on front stoops to watch the springtime miracle of a robin engineering her nest. . . .

Those fenced-off wood-chip trampled dog runs attached to select city parks and playlots confining canines by the dozens, dogs that never shall know the freedom of a prairie or farm field, see the dance of a cottontail or hear the heart-arresting wingbeat of large, golden birds rising at their feet. . . .

Decades-old conifers perfuming Berwyn bungalows. . . .

High-risers peering from rooftop flower gardens with "sitting stumps" hauled from the country in yuppie SUVs. . . .

At least two dozen various wildflower species in full, improbable glory in wretched, abandoned ghetto lots. They are dominated this month by wild carrot, goldenrod, pale blue chickory, scrawny sunflowers and purple thistle. . . .

A question: How long have those stunning wall murals been the moral flower gardens of Pilsen? . . .

A near-total absence of bird feeders. So who needs more sparrows?

Cullerton OK: Chicago outdoor legend Bill Cullerton Sr. was "sore" but resting after an emergency pacemaker heart implant Wednesday in Billings, Mont. Cullerton was hunting mule deer and antelope when he became ill.

Avian massacre: State and federal game wardens said 25,000 songbirds--mostly red-winged blackbirds--were poisoned by a St. Clair County wheat farmer near Mascoutah last weekend. He evidently spread corn laced with insecticide where the birds were foraging. State officials said charges were pending.

A cautious eye: Two round gobies were found by biologists just below the confluence of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and Cal-Sag Channel during Wednesday's federal "goby roundup." Pam Thiel of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the exotic invaders were more than six miles above the site where an electronic fish barrier is to be installed. Thiel said 10 boats carrying 30 observers from seven state, federal and local agencies emphasized the importance of controlling these potentially disastrous pests before they overwhelm inland waters.

The rumor mill: Jeff Ver Steeg, the DNR's wildlife chief, said there are no plans to reintroduce black bears to southern Illinois.

"This is the first I've heard of that rumor," he remarked Wednesday. "The last time one like that came up was when we tranquilized a bear that had escaped from a private zoo down there. We knew it wasn't a wild bear as soon as we gave it a drink of Mountain Dew."

Ver Steeg categorically denies any plans of any sort to reintroduce wild bears to Illinois. And especially not in Soldier Field.